The Pursuit of History Aims, Methods and New Directions in the Study of History

This classic introduction to history asks: What is the point of studying history? How do we know the past? John Tosh and Sean Lang argue history remains essential despite postmodernist critiques. With updates on school history, global trends, and AI, this accessible guide is vital for understanding the theory and practice of history.

This classic introduction to the study of history, now comprehensively revised and updated, raises some of its most fundamental questions: What is the point of studying history? How do we know about the past? Does an objective historical truth exist and can we ever access it? In answering these central questions, John Tosh and Sean Lang argue that, despite the impression of fragmentation created by the criticisms of the postmodernists, history remains an essential and coherent discipline which both bears the imprint of its nineteenth-century origins and has vital things to say for the modern day.

Consistently clear-sighted, this is a lively and compelling guide to a complex and often controversial subject. Tosh and Lang make readers acutely aware of just how far our historical knowledge is conditioned by the character of the sources and the methods of the historians who work on them. This eighth edition deals with complex and wide-ranging material in a clear and accessible way that is up-to-date with current historiographical trends. New material looks at the central importance of school history in framing national memory, and at trends in global and environmental history, the growing impact of counterfactual thinking, and the place of history in the age of social media and AI.

Lucid and engaging, this edition uses footnotes and a comprehensive glossary to guide students through the language and references essential to high-level historical study, as well as illustrations and suggestions for further reading. The linked website contains an extensive student-friendly guide to How to Write Good History, including a thorough guide to effective use of language and grammar in writing history. This popular and widely-used book is essential reading for anyone exploring the theory and practice of history.